Body found on beach could be missing fisherman
Authorities are investigating a body that washed up on the shores of South Padre Island to determine if it’s a 60-year-old fisherman who fell over board last weekend.
The body of a man, between the ages of 50 and 60, washed up on shore during the early hours of Wednesday, said Cameron County Precinct 1 Constable Horacio Zamora.
"At approximately 8:35 a.m. we received a call from the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department that they had received notification of a body washed up on shore," Zamora said. "The location of the body was about 12.8 miles north of Beach Access 6."
Zamora and deputy constables recovered the body, which was in a state of decomposition.
The height of the male is between 5 feet 2 inches and 5 feet 4 inches and has some tattoos that investigators hope to use for positive identification.
"Where the body was found is technically Willacy County so the investigation will be conducted by the Willacy County Sheriff’s Department," said Zamora.
At approximately midnight Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard began a search operation for the captain of the commercial fishing boat Si Se Puede. The boat’s crew reported that the captain fell overboard.
Officials refused to release the name of the missing fisherman.
A rescue helicopter, a Falcon jet and a 33-foot boat took part in the search, which was called off at sunset Monday.
"We haven’t positively identified him," Zamora said. "We believe it might be him."
